


Recruitment

by MadhouseVagabond



Series: AH Oneshots [5]
Category: Achievement Hunter
Genre: Aftermath, ELR prelude, Espionage, Gen, Hunted, Kidnapped, Mr. Haywood, Murderer, Nightmares, Oneshot, PTSD, SWAT, TLR, Ten Little Roosters, after ten little roosters, killer, lead up to eleven little roosters, recruited, save the world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 20:03:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9341066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadhouseVagabond/pseuds/MadhouseVagabond
Summary: This prompt challenge was issued by Lightningflourish on our discord chat. I was challenged to write this fic using only this photo as a prompt: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/204675613724901376/270175802602029056/image.png





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lightningflourish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightningflourish/gifts).



It had been several years since that horrifying night of murder and survival. The questions had been relentless and the police were still suspicious, and who could blame them? Ryan Haywood certainly didn't. Being the lone survivor, walking away from a building full of the corpses of his friends, all evidence pointing to him as the murderer, despite how distraught he was. Ryan knew he'd probably end up in prison but that didn't seem so bad compared to the heartbreak he felt knowing his friends had all been murdered. And for what? Some stupid game Barbara had set up in order to prove that she'd somehow become a "higher form of being"? The more Ryan thought about it the less he regretted activating that creeper suit.

But by some miracle the judge let him walk free, one small piece of evidence recovered that proved Ryan's innocence: The Know. When Lindsay had turned on the broadcast to call for help she'd also hit the record button, purely out of habit. She's neglected to switch it off as the events of the evening progressed, showing her comical attempts at hiding from the killer, the small clip of the RT podcast where Barbara had tied up Ryan and explained her entire plan, the green screen meat fight he'd had with her, and then the final moments where he'd activated the creeper suit. The evidence clearly proved Ryan's innocence and he left a free man.

A free, broken man.

He was constantly looking over his shoulder and nervous that he'd be stabbed in the back at any minute. He refused to set foot in the office for a few months for work, fear gripping his heart every time he saw the place. He'd made the decision to leave the company, knowing that he was only bringing them down, barely able to complete his work. The others were sad to see him go and Matt refused to accept his resignation, telling Ryan instead to just take some time off until he was ready. Geoff in the meantime told Ryan that he could do whatever work he could from his home, instead of having to come to the office. Ryan was thankful for their generosity, wondering how he'd landed such an amazing job with people that cared so much for his well being.

That had been three years ago.

Now Ryan was beginning to feel ready to return to work. His nightmares had slowly become more manageable, he no longer woke up screaming at night. The others had visited him several times over his hiatus, Ray playing games with him, Geoff talking and cooking with him, Jack being a listening ear, Jeremy always willing to give comforting hugs and pick up groceries for Ryan. He was grateful, and overwhelmed at how much he appreciated his friends. It was a lazy Friday afternoon when Ryan decided to venture out into the world and get out of the house for a bit. He walked the streets of Austin, no real destination in mind as he enjoyed the nice warm weather. After several minutes his stomach growled and he remembered that he hadn't eaten lunch. It wasn't quite dinner time so he decided to grab a quick snack. Walking into a small drugstore Ryan selected a bag of chips and got a large styrofoam cup of Diet Coke. He smiled at the cashier as he paid for his food, but became uneasy when he noticed the woman was nervously fidgeting and kept glancing at the door. Like she was waiting for something.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. The girl snapped her attention back to him and shook her head vigorously. Ryan narrowed his eyes suspiciously but shrugged his shoulders, opening up the bag of chips and shoving several in his mouth as he walked out the door. Looking up Ryan froze, mid chew, chips nearly falling from his mouth as he deadpanned at what he saw. Several men in what looked like SWAT gear stood there, guns leveled at Ryan's chest. His eyes widened as he realized that these men were about to kill him.

"Ryan Haywood, we need you to come with us," a voice said from behind the line of men.

_Shit!_ Ryan thought and dropped his bag of chips and drink as he darted away into the nearby woods. He didn't care about anything else besides escaping. He was filled with dread and terror that whoever Barbara had worked for had come back to finish the job. This thought spurred him on as he ran through the woods, dodging tree branches and hurtling boulders and fallen trees. He was like a desperate animal being hunted, adrenalin coursing through his veins one goal in mind.

_Escape._

Diving behind a row of bushes Ryan steadied his breathing and focused on making no noise, forcing his lungs to accept the small amounts of air he was calmly inhaling through his nose. He held his breath as a couple SWAT ran by, oblivious to his presence. After a minute he let out the breath and sighed. He'd escaped!

All of a sudden he felt strong arms grab him and haul him to his feet. He cried out for help but a cloth was pressed firmly over his mouth and nose and the sweet smell of chloroform filled his nostrils. Ryan struggled and fought but the strong arms held him tight and soon he felt himself slipping away into darkness. Just before he went limp he heard a voice calmly speak into his ear.

"Now Mr. Haywood, if you're all done with the theatrics, we really do need to get you back to headquarters. We're desperately in need of your assistance,"

Ryan woke sometime later, a splitting headache his rude wake up call. He groggily shook his head and groaned.

"Wake up Mr. Haywood," came a voice from somewhere in the dark. Ryan's eyes snapped open and he realized he had a hood over his head. He struggled for a second before he realized he was tied to a chair. The snap of fingers sounded and the hood was pulled from his head. He blinked as light blinded him.

"Where am I? What am I doing here?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"We need your help! I run a sort of uh...international alliance. And we have a problem that you are uniquely outfitted to solve," came the voice. Ryan blinked away the glare and noticed a man sitting in front of him. The man was tall and had brownish blonde hair similar to his own. He didn't seem threatening, in fact, he almost seemed desperate.

"What problem is that?" Ryan asked, growing a little impatient and just a tad claustrophobic from being tied to the chair. The man grew very serious then as he replied.

"Rooting out a killer mole! Tell me, what do you know about...international espionage?" he asked intently. Ryan was taken aback at the question and the intensity with which it was said.

"Um...not much?" he asked more than said. The man went into a long tangent about how his organization had been keeping some of the worlds biggest secrets under wraps and how recently it had been discovered that a mole intent on killing off every agent had risen within the organization. Through it all Ryan remained silent, both fear and concern welling up inside him.

"You survived a killer once. What I'm asking is...are you ready to do it again?" the man finally asked. Ryan gazed into the man's eyes trying to detect any form of deception or evil. Instead all he saw was desperation and hope. Ryan swallowed hard.

"I have a choice?" he asked. The man didn't answer but Ryan figured that silence was answer enough.

"Are you asking me? Or is the CIA or whoever the hell is running this show asking me?" he asked. The man looked up into Ryan's eyes and said something Ryan would never forget.

"The world is asking you, Mr. Haywood," he said calmly. Ryan stared at the man, mind racing but he knew deep within what he needed to do. Slowly he fought back his fear and calmly replied.

"Then fuck yeah I'm ready to do it again!"


End file.
